(CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA), August 3, 2010 — Delegates to the 64th Annual Meeting of The Council of State Governments’ Southern Legislative Conference (SLC) today elected Tennessee Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris, R-Collierville, chair of the Conference.

Senator Norris is the first Tennessee Senator to serve as SLC chair since 1988. Delegates from SLC’s 15 member states unanimously elected Norris to succeed Speaker Robert W. Harrell, Jr. of South Carolina, the previous chair of the Conference. Speaker Richard Thompson of West Virginia was chosen chair-elect. Representative Billy Broomfield of Mississippi was elected Vice Chairman.

Norris is an attorney with the law firm of Adams and Reese LLP. He has served in the Tennessee Senate since 2000 and has served as Senate Majority Leader since 2007. He currently serves as chairman of the Senate Rules Committee and is a member of the Finance, Ways and Means Committee; Ethics Committee; and State and Local Government Committee.

Senator Norris will preside over all Executive Committee meetings of the SLC and guide the Conference in major policy deliberations. The 65th SLC Annual Meeting will be held in Memphis, Tennessee on July 16-20, 2011.

Founded in 1947, the Southern Legislative Conference is one of four regional legislative offices operating under The Council of State Governments. The mission of the Southern office is to foster and encourage intergovernmental cooperation among its 15 member states, the largest regional coalition with common interests and goals served by the offices of the Council. By working together within the SLC and participating on its committees, Southern state legislative leaders are able to speak in a distinctive, unified voice to address the issues that affect their states and the greater region.
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